The Socialite Who Killed a Nazi with Her Bare Hands and 143 Other Fascinating People Who Died This Past Year: The Best of the New York Times Obituaries

Part of the Pulitzer Prize–winning team at the New York Times that produced the series How Race Is Lived in America, as well as the obituaries editor at the Times since 2006, William McDonald knows a good story when he hears it—especially if it already has an ending. Here he collects the obituaries of 144 people who died in the year August 2011 through July 2012, a widely varied roster whose one common virtue is that their life stories are fascinating. Apple founder Steve Jobs was reunited with a sister he never knew, poet Ruth Stone remained virtually unknown until she won the National Book Award at the age of 87, Arch West invented the Dorito and a new snack industry, and New Zealander Nancy Wake, the socialite of the title, joined the French Resistance in World War II and was awarded the Legion of Honor.